Space Sirens, Scientists and Princesses

We are living in a science fiction cinema age. This is the genre that delivers the grandest visions with the latest effects in the biggest blockbusters—and women are now at the center of many of its stories. But it hasn’t always been this way. In a unique survey of more than 650 films produced across 120 years, Dean Conrad charts a history of highs and lows, in which women have struggled to be seen and heard in a genre traditionally regarded as being of men, by men and for men. This is the story of female characters in science fiction cinema, from their absence and token presence in the silent pictures of the 19th century, through their roles as assistants, pulp princesses, sexy robots, scientists, soldiers, academics and more, up to their prominent place in the 21st century’s established franchises. World wars, social upheavals, cultural changes and advances in film technology have all had their effect on the development of the genre—and there is no better barometer for this than its female roles. Placed in context and supported by theory, these are the fabulous, furious, funny, fragile and frustrating women of science fiction cinema.